Sunday, February 22, 2015

VEGETABLE MANCHURIAN

In India, Chinese cuisine is very popular. From street food to big restaurants, Chinese food is very famous and loved a lot by everyone. One of the many reasons for the wide popularity is that they can be prepared quickly and has abundant flavors.Indian Chinese food is prepared with the Chinese cooking techniques but with flavors that are suited for the Indian taste buds. It is tangy, sweet and spicy. Moreover, the zing in the food lingers in the mouth even after eating.

Some time back I had shared with you all a quick and easy recipe to make Schezwan Noodles. Today, I will be sharing a recipe to make VEGETABLE MANCHURIAN. In this dish, mixed vegetable dumplings are deep fried and then served in a spicy tangy soya sauce based gravy. Vegetable Manchurian is usually served with Chinese style noodles, Fried Rice or even steamed rice.

INGREDIENTS:

Reference : Easy Chinese Cooking By Tarla Dalal

For the vegetable balls, you will need:

Cabbage (finely chopped) : 3.5 cups

Carrots (grated) : 1 1/4 cup

Onion (finely chopped) : 1/3 cup

Cornstarch : 3 tbsp

All purpose flour (maida) : 6 tbsp

Garlic (finely chopped) : 2 tbsp

Green chilli (finely chopped) : 1

Salt and Pepper as per taste

Oil for deep frying

For the sauce, you will need:

Garlic (finely chopped) : 1.5 tbsp

Green chillies (finely chopped) : 1 tbsp

Ginger (grated) : 1 tbsp

Clear vegetable stock or plain water : 1 cup

Soya sauce : 1 tbsp

1.5 tbsp Cornstarch to be mixed with 1 cup of water

Sugar : 1 tsp

Oil : 1 tbsp

Salt as per taste

Little spring onion greens for garnishing.

Note: All measurements are based on the US measuring cup and spoon sizes where 1 cup = 235 ml

Heat oil for deep frying. Shape spoonful of the vegetable mixture into small balls and deep fry them in hot oil until golden brown. Once done, drain them in an absorbent paper.

Set the fried balls aside until ready to be used.

To make the sauce

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok/pan on high heat.To this , add the garlic, ginger and green chillies. Fry for a couple of minutes on high heat.

Add the vegetable stock / water, soya sauce, sugar , cornstarch paste and salt. Mix well. Simmer for a few minutes. Note : If the sauce seems too thick after the simmer, add little water to adjust the consistency. If you feel the sauce is too runny, mix some additional cornstarch with water and add it to the sauce.

Final Step:

When you are ready to serve, add the deep fried vegetable balls to the sauce and bring it to a boil. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve hot. I served VEGETABLE MANCHURIAN with Schezwan noodles.

One of my most loved Indian Chinese dishes and I vouch that plate has been crafted to look absolutely gorgeous. Shubha an earnest confession this is one of the best looking vegetable MANCHURIAN dish that I have come across and you have done a fantastic job in bringing in the perfect balance of look and texture. What looks so visually enticing I can only imagine how it would have elevated the sense of taste with every bite. Loved it immensely.

love love your pictures, especially the gorgeous manchurian balls looking at me - as if saying - 'pick me up! what are you waiting for!' and the manchurian in gravy, side angle- too good...I am imagining the flavors in the sauce and the crunch of the manchurian - an awesome delight of a recipe. perfect for any celebration, appeasing the kids and grown ups alike. well done:)